mathematics
Article
Accurate Solution for the Pantograph Delay Differential
Equation via Laplace Transform
Reem Alrebdi 1,2 and Hind K. Al-Jeaid 1, *
Citation: Alrebdi, R.; Al-Jeaid, H.K.
Accurate Solution for the Pantograph
Delay Differential Equation via
Laplace Transform. Mathematics 2023,
11, 2031. https://doi.org/10.3390/
math11092031
Academic Editor: Snezhana Hristova
Received: 28 March 2023
Revised: 15 April 2023
Accepted: 18 April 2023
Published: 25 April 2023
Copyright: © 2023 by the authors.
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
This article is an open access article
distributed under the terms and
conditions of the Creative Commons
Attribution (CC BY) license (https://
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/
4.0/).
Mathematics 2023, 11, 2031. https://doi.org/10.3390/math11092031
1 Department of Mathematical Sciences, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah 24382, Saudi Arabia;
s44277171@st.uqu.edu.sa or r.rebdi@qu.edu.sa
2 Department of Mathematics, College of Science, Qassim University, Buraydah 52571, Saudi Arabia
* Correspondence: hkjeaid@uqu.edu.sa
Abstract: The Pantograph equation is a fundamental mathematical model in the field of delay
differential equations. A special case of the Pantograph equation is well known as the Ambartsumian
delay equation which has a particular application in Astrophysics. In this paper, the Laplace transform
is successfully applied to solve the Pantograph delay equation. The solution is obtained in a closed
series form in terms of exponential functions. This closed form reduces to the corresponding solution
in the relevant literature for the Ambartsumian delay equation as a special case. In addition, the
convergence of the obtained series is proved theoretically and validated graphically. Furthermore,
the accuracy of the numerical results are estimated through several computations of the residual
errors. It is shown that such residuals tend to zero, even in a huge domain. The obtained results
reveal that the Laplace transform is a powerful approach to solve linear delay differential equations,
including the Pantograph model.
Keywords: Laplace transform; Adomian decomposition method; pantograph; delay; solution series
MSC: 34k06
1. Introduction
The use of ordinary differential equations (ODEs) and partial differential equations
(PDEs) is essential in modeling engineering and physical phenomena. However, the stan-
dard forms of ODEs/PDEs are not always effective in modeling the scientific problems with
a memory effect. Such phenomena can be better described by means of delay differential
equations (DDEs). There are many standard methods to solve linear ODEs of first or higher
orders with constant/variable coefficients, e.g., the separation of variables method, varia-
tion in parameters method, reduction in order method, and others. Unfortunately, such
methods can not be applied in a straightforward manner to solve DDEs for the existence of
the delay terms. Actually, each DDE has its own approach to solve.
For linear ODEs, the Laplace transform (LT) is an effective/fundamental method for
a solution. In addition, the LT usually leads to exact solutions for mathematical models
governed by linear ODEs/PDEs. Regarding the LT, it was widely applied to deal with a
considerable amount of engineering/physical problems. For example, Ebaid et al. [1] solved
the three-dimensions falling body problem while Aljohani et al. [2] solved the chlorine
transport model by means of the LT. Moreover, several classes of 2nd-order boundary value
problems were solved by Ebaid et al. [3,4] and Ali et al. [5] using the LT. Moreover, the LT
was found to be effective for treating numerous models in fluids in exact forms, see, for
example, Refs. [6–9].
In addition to the LT, there are other effective methods to analyze the ODEs/DEs,
such as the Adomian decomposition method (ADM) (see Refs. [10–28]), the homotopy
perturbation method (HPM) (see Refs. [29–43]), the homotopy analysis method (HAM)
(see Refs. [44–52]), and the differential transform method (DTM) (see Refs. [53–57]). These
https://www.mdpi.com/journal/mathematics
Mathematics 2023, 11, 2031 2 of 15

methods are effective when the approximate solution is the target. However, the exact
solution is rarely obtainable by the just mentioned methods. Furthermore, the HPM and
HAM force us to implement auxiliary parameters and they also need to put the equation
being solved in an effective canonical form; this leads to a divergent solution if such a
canonical form is not appropriate. However, the LT has its own advantage over the above
methods. This is simply because the LT usually leads to the exact solution for linear
ODEs/PDEs.
The objective of this paper is to extend the application of the LT to analyze one of
the fundamental DDEs, called the Pantograph delay differential equation (PDDE), given
by [24]
y0 (t) = ay(t) + by(ct), (1)
where a, b, c are real constants such that b 6= 0 and c < 1. Equation (1) is subjected to the
initial condition (IC)
y(0) = λ, (2)
where λ is a real constant. It will be shown in this paper that the LT is an effective tool to
solve the PDDE. The solution will be determined in a closed convergent series form. In
addition, the exact solutions of some special cases will be evaluated at particular values of
the involved parameters, a, b, and c. On the other hand, the existing results in the literature
are to be recovered as special cases of the present analysis. Before launching to the main
purpose of this paper, let us introduce the following basic lemma and theorem which are
essential in this study.

Lemma 1. For c ∈ R − {0}, the LT of the delay term y(ct) is

1 s
L{y(ct)} = Y , (3)
c c
where Y (s) is the LT of y(t).

Proof. From the definition of the LT,

Z ∞
L{y(t)} = e−st y(t)dt, (4)
0

we have Z ∞
L{y(ct)} = e−st y(ct)dt. (5)
0
Let u = ct (c 6= 0), then
Z ∞
1 s 1 s
L{y(ct)} = e− c u y(u)du = Y , (6)
c 0 c c
which completes the proof.

The following theorem is well-known as the Heaviside’s expansion formula which

permits to calculate the inverse LT of the quotient of two polynomials.

Theorem 1 ([58]). If P(s) and Q(s) are two polynomials in s such that the degree of P(s) is less
P(s)
than the degree of Q(s) and Q(s) has n distinct zeros αk , k = 1, 2, ...n, then the inverse LT of Q(s) is
  n
P(s) P ( αk ) αk t
L −1
Q(s)
= ∑ Q0 (αk )
e . (7)
k =1
Mathematics 2023, 11, 2031 3 of 15

2. Application of the LT-ADM

In this section, the LT is applied to solve the PDDE given by Equations (1) and (2).
Accordingly, a closed-form solution will be obtained using a simple and straightforward
approach. The suggested approach is based on combining the LT and the ADM following
clear and simple steps.

2.1. The Transformed Equation

Let us begin with applying the LT on Equation (1); this yields

b s
sY (s) − y(0) = aY (s) + Y , (8)
c c
which implies
b s
( s − a )Y ( s ) = λ + Y . (9)
c c
A first step for applying the ADM is to put Equation (9) in the canonical form:

λ b s
Y (s) = + Y (10)
s − a c(s − a) c

The ADM assumes the solution in the form

∞
Y (s) = ∑ Yi (s). (11)
i =0

Substituting (11) into (10), we obtain

∞ ∞
λ b s
∑ Yi (s) = +
s − a c(s − a) ∑ Yi c
. (12)
i =0 i =0

From (12), we have recurrence scheme


λ
Y0 (s) = s−

 a,
(13)
b s


Yi (s) = Y , i ≥ 1.

c ( s − a ) i −1 c

For i = 1, we have

b s bλ
Y1 (s) = Y0 =
, (14)
c(s − a) c c(s − a) cs − a

and for i = 2, we obtain

b s b2 λ
Y2 (s) = Y1 =
 . (15)
c(s − a) c c2 (s − a) cs − a cs2 − a

Similarly, the case i = 3 leads to

b s b3 λ
Y3 (s) = Y2 =
 s  . (16)
c(s − a) c c3 ( s − a ) s
−a −a s
−a
c c2 c3
Mathematics 2023, 11, 2031 4 of 15

In view of the above results, a unified formula for the general component Yi (s) can be
expressed as

bi λ bi λ
Yi (s) =
 s    =  . (17)
ci ( s − a ) s
c − a c2 − a . . . csi − a ci ∏ik=0 csk − a

Therefore, the solution to Equation (9) is

∞ ∞
bi λ bi
Y (s) = ∑   =λ∑  . (18)
i =0 c i ∏ik=0 s
ck
−a i =0 c i ∏ik=0 s
ck
−a

The inverse LT of the expression on the right-hand side of Equation (18) is the subject
of the next section. This leads to the solution y(t) in a closed series form in terms of
exponential functions.

2.2. The Closed-Form Solution of the PDDE

Applying the inverse LT on both sides of Equation (18) gives
 
∞ b i 
y ( t ) = λ L −1 ∑   . (19)
 i =0 c i ∏ i s
−a  k =0 ck

Let us define the two polynomials Pi (s) and Qi (s) by

 i i
b s 
Pi (s) =
c
, Qi ( s ) = ∏ k
− a , (20)
k =0 c

then Equation (19) can be rewritten as

∞  
Pi (s)
y(t) = λ ∑ L −1
. (21)
i =0
Qi ( s )

It is clear from (20) that the polynomial Qi (s) has (i + 1) distinct roots (αk , say),
k = 0, 1, 2, . . . , i. Such roots are given by αk = ack . Applying Theorem 1, we obtain
  i
Pi (s) Pi (αk ) αk t
L −1
Qi ( s )
= ∑ Qi0 (αk )
e , (22)
k =0

i.e,
 i k
b

Pi (s)
 i
c e ac t
L −1
Qi ( s )
= ∑ 0 ack

. (23)
k =0 Q i

Inserting (23) into (21), then y(t) reads

∞
 i ack ti
b e
y(t) = λ ∑ ∑ 0

. (24)
i =0 k =0
c Qi ack

Consequently, the solution of the PDDE is given by the closed form (24). The conver-
gence of the series solution (24) will be analyzed in a subsequent section. In addition, this
closed form reduces to the corresponding solution in the literature at particular values of
the parameters a, b, and c. This issue is addressed in the next section.
Mathematics 2023, 11, 2031 5 of 15

3. Special Cases
3.1. Ambartsumian Delay Equation
The Ambartsumian equation is of particular interest in Astrophysics. It is used for
studying the surface brightness of the Milky Way. The standard Ambartsumian model is
governed by the DDE (see Refs. [21,22]):
 
1 t
y0 (t) = −y(t) + y , q > 1. (25)
q q

Comparing Equation (25) with Equation (1), we find a = −1 and b = c = 1q . Employ-

ing these values in Equation (24), then the solution of the Ambartsumian equation reads

− t
∞ i qk i
e  
y(t) = λ ∑ ∑  , Qi ( s ) = ∏ qk s + 1 , (26)
i =0 k =0 Qi0 − q1k k =0

which is the same result obtained by Bakodah and Ebaid [21].

3.2. Exact Solution at c = 1

If c = 1, then Equation (1) takes the form

y 0 ( t ) = ( a + b ) y ( t ), (27)

which has the exact solution

y(t) = λe(a+b)t . (28)
The expression (28) can be directly derived by finding the inverse LT of the Y (s) given
in Equation (18) when c = 1. In this case, we find from Equation (18) that

∞ ∞
( ) ( )
bi 1
y(t) = λL −1
∑ i =λ∑bL i −1
,
i =0 Π k =0 ( s − a ) i =0 ( s − a ) i +1
∞ ∞
(bt)i
 
1
= λ ∑ bi e at L−1 i+1 = λe at ∑ = λe(a+b)t . (29)
i =0 s i =0
i!

3.3. Exact Solution at c = −1

i
 this case, one can find from Equation (20) that Pi (s) = (−b) and Qi (s) =
In
∏ik=0 (−1)k s − a . It can be shown that such expressions of Pi (s) and Qi (s) lead to the
same exact periodic solution reported in Ref. [59]. The derivation of such periodic solution
is ignored here just to avoid repetition.

4. Theoretical Results
The n-term approximate solution Φn (t) can be extracted from Equation (24) as
 i ack t
n −1 i
b e
Φn (t) = λ ∑ ∑ 0

. (30)
i =0 k =0
c Qi ack

This approximation can be rewritten as

n −1
Φn (t) = λ ∑ z i ( t ), (31)
i =0

where  i ack t
i
b e
zi ( t ) = ∑ χi,k (t), χi,k (t) =
c Qi0 ack

. (32)
k =0
Mathematics 2023, 11, 2031 6 of 15

Here, we show that the components zi (t) enjoy certain properties at t = 0, given in
the following theorem.

Theorem 2. At t = 0, the components zi (t) satisfy the properties z0 (0) = 1 and zi (0) = 0
∀ i ≥ 1.

Proof. At t = 0 and for i = 0, we have from Equation (32) that

1
z0 (0) = χ0,0 (0), χ0,0 (0) = . (33)
Q00 ( a)

To calculate Q00 ( a), we use Formula (20) for i = 0 which gives

Q0 (s) = s − a, Q00 (s) = 1, Q00 ( a) = 1, (34)

which implies χ0,0 (0) = 1 and z0 (0) = 1. For i = 1, we have from Equation (32) that

z1 (0) = χ1,0 (0) + χ1,1 (0),

   
b 1 b 1
= + . (35)
c Q10 ( a) c Q10 ( ac)

The quantities Q10 ( a) and Q10 ( ac) can be evaluated as follows:

s2
s  
 1
Q1 ( s ) = ( s − a ) −a = −a 1+ s + a2 ,
c c c
 
2s 1
Q10 (s) = −a 1+ ,
c c
a a
Q10 ( a) = − a, Q10 ( ac) = a − . (36)
c c
Employing (36) in (35), we obtain

b b
z1 (0) = + = 0. (37)
a − ac ac − a
Moreover, for i = 2, we have from Equation (32) that

z2 (0) = χ2,0 (0) + χ2,1 (0) + χ2,2 (0),

 2  
b 1 1 1
= + + . (38)
c Q20 ( a) Q20 ( ac) Q20 ( ac2 )

Similarly, the magnitudes Q20 ( a), Q20 ( ac), and Q20 ( ac2 ) are determined from Formula (20)
as

s3
s  s    
 1 1 1 2 2 1 1
Q2 ( s ) = ( s − a ) −a −a = 3 −a 3 + 2 + s +a + + 1 s − a3 ,
c c2 c c c c c2 c
3s 2 
1 1 1
 
1 1

Q20 (s) = 3 − 2a 3 + 2 + s + a2 2 + + 1 s, (39)
c c c c c c
Mathematics 2023, 11, 2031 7 of 15

and hence
a2
Q20 ( a) =


 c3
(c + 1)(c − 1)2 ,





2
Q20 ( ac) = − ac2 (c − 1)2 , (40)





a2

Q20 ( ac2 ) = (c + 1)(c − 1)2 .

c2

From (40), we obtain

c3
 
1 1 1 1 1 1
+ 0 + 0 2 = − + ,
Q20 ( a) Q2 ( ac) Q2 ( ac ) a2 (c + 1)(c − 1)2 c ( c − 1)2 c(c + 1)(c − 1)2
c3 c − ( c + 1) − 1
 
= = 0. (41)
a2 c(c + 1)(c − 1)2

Inserting this result into Equation (38) yields z2 (0) = 0 as required. In fact, one can
prove by induction that zi (0) = 0 ∀ i ≥ 1.

The above theorem is essential for proving that the n-term approximate solution (30)
satisfies the IC (2), i.e., Φn (0) = λ ∀ n ≥ 1. This point is addressed in the following theorem.

Theorem 3. ∀ n ≥ 1, the approximation Φn given by Equation (30) satisfies the IC (2).

Proof. For n = 1, we have from Equations (31) and (32) at t = 0 that

Φ1 (0) = λz0 (0) = λ, (42)

where z0 = 1 by Theorem 2. For n ≥ 1, we find

!
n −1 n −1
Φ n (0) = λ ∑ z i (0) = λ z0 (0) + ∑ z i (0) ,
i =0 i =1
!
n −1
= λ 1+ ∑ z i (0) = λ, (43)
i =1

where zi (0) = 0 ∀ i ≥ 1 (Theorem 2), and this completes the proof.

5. Convergence Analysis
Theorem 4. For t > 0, the series (24) converges if |c| < 1 and | ba | < 1.

Proof. From Equations (24) and (32), we have

∞ i  i ack t
b e
y(t) = ∑ z i ( t ), zi ( t ) = ∑ χi,k (t), χi,k (t) =
c Qi0 ack

, (44)
i =0 k =0

and so
i +1 i
z i +1 ( t ) − z i ( t ) = ∑ χi+1,k (t) − ∑ χi,k (t),
k =0 k =0
  i +1 i +1 k  i i k
b e ac t b e ac t
=
c ∑ 0 k

−
c k∑ 0 k

. (45)
k =0 Qi +1 ac =0 Qi ac
Mathematics 2023, 11, 2031 8 of 15

In order to facilitate our proof, we rewrite Qi (s) in the form

i i 
1  1

Qi ( s ) = ∏ ck s − ack = c− 2 i(i+1) ∏ s − ack , (46)
k =0 k =0

or
1
i  
Qi (s) = c− 2 i(i+1) Gi (s), Gi (s) = ∏ s − ack . (47)
k =0

The following quantities can be determined from the definition of Gi (s) in (47):
    
Gi ack = 0 ∀ i ≥ k, Gi+1 (s) = ∏ik+=10 s − ack = s − aci+1 Gi (s),





Gi0+1  aci+1 Gi0 (s Gi (s), Gi0+1 aci+1 = Gi aci+1 ,  




(s) = s −
 )+ 
(48)

G0
 k k
= ac − ac i + 1 0 k k
Gi ac + Gi ac = a c − c k i + 1 0 k
i +1 ac Gi ac .

Thus, Equation (45) becomes

 i+1 i+1 1 (i+1)(i+2) ack t  i i 1 i(i+1) ack t
b c2 e b c2 e
z i +1 ( t ) − z i ( t ) =
c ∑ 0
Gi+1 ac k

− ∑
c k=0 Gi ack 0

,
k =0
 i+1 " i 1 (i+1)(i+2) ack t 1 i +1
#   1 k
b c2 e c 2 (i+1)(i+2) e ac t b i i c 2 i(i+1) e ac t
=
c ∑ G0 ack + G0 aci+1

−
c k∑ 0 k

,
k =0 i +1 i +1 =0 Gi ac
  i +1 " i 1 k 1 i +1 1
#   k
b c 2 (i+1)(i+2) e ac t c 2 (i+1)(i+2) e ac t b i i c 2 i(i+1) e ac t
= ∑ k i+1 G0 ack

+
Gi aci+1

−
c k∑ 0 k

,
k =0 a c − c
c i =0 Gi ac
 i i ! i k i ( i +1) t
b i
b c c 2 (i+1) e ac t bi+1 c 2 (i+1) e ac
c k∑
a
= −1 + . (49)
Gi0 ack



k i +1 Gi aci+1
=0 c − c

Moreover, we have
  i   i h  i
Gi aci+1 = ∏ aci+1 − ack = ∏ − ack 1 − ci−k+1 ,
k =0 k =0
i   i  
= ∏ − ack ∏ 1 − c i − k +1 ,
k =0 k =0

i
i   i
= (− a)i+1 c 2 (i+1) ∏ 1 − c j+1 = (− a)i+1 c 2 (i+1) (c : c)i+1 , (50)
j =0

where the quantum calculus notation (α : β)i = ∏ij− 1 j

=0 1 − αβ is used when α = β = c,
see Refs. [60,61]. Let
 
c + b i −k − 1
a c
b i
ac
Ωi,k = k −1 = , (51)
c − c i +1 1 − c i − k +1
then   i +1 i +1 t
i
i Ωi,k ack t − ba e ac
z i +1 ( t ) − z i ( t ) = b i c 2 ( i −1)
∑ Gi0 ack

e +
( c : c ) i +1
. (52)
k =0

Hence,
i +1 i +1
b
1 i ( i −1)
i Ωi,k a e ac t
|zi+1 (t) − zi (t)| ≤ bi |c| 2
∑ Gi0 ack

e ack t
+
|(c : c)i+1 |
. (53)
k =0
Mathematics 2023, 11, 2031 9 of 15

 
It should be noted that the quantities Ωi,k , Gi0 ack , and (c : c)i+1 are bounded as
i → ∞ if |c| < 1, where for limi→∞ |Ωi,k | → 1 and 0 < (c : c)∞ < 1. Accordingly, the first
term on the right-hand side of Equation (53) vanishes when |c| < 1, while the second term
vanishes if | ba | < 1; this agrees with Ref. [62] and completes the proof.

6. Results and Validation

This section explores and validates the accuracy of the present approach. In the first
part, we focus on showing the convergence of the obtained approximate solution. Such a
target is achieved through several plots of a sequence of the approximations {Φn }, n ≥ 1.
The considered values of the proportional delay parameter c and the involved constants
a and b meet the conditions of the convergence theorem. For declaration, the values are
chosen so that they satisfy the requirements | ba | < 1 and |c| < 1.
In this regard, the approximations Φ3 , Φ5 , Φ7 , and Φ9 are depicted in Figures 1–8 at
different values of the constants a and b and the proportional delay parameter c. It can be
observed that the convergence of these approximations is verified, even for a few terms of
the current series solution. In addition, it is shown in these figures that the approximations
Φn converge rapidly to a specific function, and the nature of such a function depends
mainly on the signs of a, b, and c. Moreover, the behavior of the Φn follows the exponential
functions which increase or decrease according to the signs of the included parameters.
In the second part of this discussion, we focus on the error analysis. The numerical
calculations are performed to estimate the residual errors REn (t) defined by

REn (t) = |Φ0n (t) − aΦn (t) − bΦn (ct)|, n ≥ 1. (54)

For this purpose, the numerical calculations of the residuals REn (t), for n = 7, 8, 9,
are extracted and displayed through Figure 9. The results show an acceptable error and
the advantage of the proposed approach is clear, even in a huge domain. This conclusion
is confirmed in Figure 10; however, the accuracy enjoys a better performance than the
corresponding accuracy in Figure 9. The reason behind that is the increase in the number of
terms, where REn (t) is plotted in Figure 10 at n = 10, 11, 12. Of course, one can increase the
number of terms as needed to achieve the desired accuracy. In view of the above discussion,
one may trust the effectiveness and the efficiency of the LT to treat the PDDE.
Fn HtL

F3 HtL
8 ´ 107

F5 HtL

6 ´ 107 F7 HtL
F9 HtL

4 ´ 107

2 ´ 107

t
2 4 6 8 10

Figure 1. Plots of the approximations Φn (t) for n = 3, 5, 7, 9 at a = 2, b = 1, and c = 1/2.

Mathematics 2023, 11, 2031 10 of 15

Fn HtL

4 ´ 107 F3 HtL
F5 HtL

3 ´ 107 F7 HtL
F9 HtL

2 ´ 107

1 ´ 107

t
2 4 6 8 10

Figure 2. Plots of the approximations Φn (t) for n = 3, 5, 7, 9 at a = 2, b = 1, and c = −1/2.

Fn HtL

F3 HtL
F5 HtL
8
1.5 ´ 10

F7 HtL
F9 HtL
1.0 ´ 108

5.0 ´ 107

t
2 4 6 8 10

Figure 3. Plots of the approximations Φn (t) for n = 3, 5, 7, 9 at a = 2, b = 1, and c = 3/4.

Fn HtL

3.5 ´ 107
F3 HtL
F5 HtL
3.0 ´ 107

2.5 ´ 107 F7 HtL

F9 HtL
2.0 ´ 107

1.5 ´ 107

1.0 ´ 107

5.0 ´ 106

t
2 4 6 8 10

Figure 4. Plots of the approximations Φn (t) for n = 3, 5, 7, 9 at a = 2, b = 1, and c = −3/4.

Mathematics 2023, 11, 2031 11 of 15

Fn HtL
1.0

F3 HtL
0.8 F5 HtL
F7 HtL
0.6 F9 HtL

0.4

0.2

t
5 10 15 20 25

Figure 5. Plots of the approximations Φn (t) for n = 3, 5, 7, 9 at a = −2, b = 1, and c = 1/2.

Fn HtL

F3 HtL
1.5 ´ 108

F5 HtL
F7 HtL
1.0 ´ 108 F9 HtL

5.0 ´ 107

t
2 4 6 8 10

Figure 6. Plots of the approximations Φn (t) for n = 3, 5, 7, 9 at a = 2, b = −1, and c = 1/2.

Fn HtL
1.0

F3 HtL
0.8 F5 HtL
F7 HtL
0.6 F9 HtL

0.4

0.2

t
5 10 15 20 25

Figure 7. Plots of the approximations Φn (t) for n = 3, 5, 7, 9 at a = −2, b = 1, and c = 3/4.

Mathematics 2023, 11, 2031 12 of 15

Fn HtL
3.5 ´ 108

3.0 ´ 108 F3 HtL

F5 HtL
F7 HtL
2.5 ´ 108

2.0 ´ 108 F9 HtL

1.5 ´ 108

1.0 ´ 108

5.0 ´ 107

t
2 4 6 8 10

Figure 8. Plots of the approximations Φn (t) for n = 3, 5, 7, 9 at a = 2, b = −1, and c = 3/4.

REn HtL

0.004 RE7 HtL

RE8 HtL

0.003 RE9 HtL

0.002

0.001

t
20 40 60 80 100

Figure 9. Variation in the residual REn (t) for n = 7, 8, 9 at a = −2, b = 1, and c = 3/4.

REn HtL

0.0005 RE10 HtL

RE11 HtL
0.0004
RE12 HtL
0.0003

0.0002

0.0001

t
20 40 60 80 100

Figure 10. Variation in the residual REn (t) for n = 10, 11, 12 at a = −2, b = 1, and c = 3/4.
Mathematics 2023, 11, 2031 13 of 15

7. Conclusions
In this paper, the PDDE was solved by means of a hybrid approach. The suggested
technique was mainly based on combining the LT and the ADM. The analytic approx-
imations were successfully conducted and theoretically proved for convergence. The
results in the literature were recovered as special cases of our analysis. The performed
numerical calculations confirmed the theoretical theorem of convergence. Furthermore,
the calculated residuals reveal the accuracy of the obtained results and also confirm the
effectiveness/efficiency of our approach to solve the PDDE. The capability of the present
analysis to solve extended versions of the PDDE may deserve further future works.

Author Contributions: Methodology, H.K.A.-J.; Validation, R.A. and H.K.A.-J.; Formal analysis, R.A.
and H.K.A.-J.; Investigation, R.A. and H.K.A.-J.; Resources, R.A.; Writing—review & editing, H.K.A.-J.
All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
Funding: This research received no external funding.
Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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